Mike Williams: ‘I just don’t want to be a distraction’

Mike Williams has been targeted just nine times this season. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

RENTON — The spirit of Keyshawn Johnson was nowhere to be found in the Seahawks locker room on Wednesday.

There were no “give me the damn ball” proclamations from receiver Mike Williams, speaking for the first time since being targeted just once and catching zero passes in Seattle’s win over Arizona on Sunday. Williams even said he’s not frustrated by the fact that he has just five catches and nine targets through three games this season.

“We won the game. Pretty much that’s all that’s important,” Williams said. “It’s kind of selfish to be talking about your own thing when you got your first win as a team. … I’m just trying to control what I can control. Just get back out there this week and get back to work.”

That was Williams’ theme when speaking with reporters Wednesday: forget about the fact that he hasn’t been a big part of the offense so far, and work on changing that going forward.

No harsh words for quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. None either for Sidney Rice, who caught eight passes last week for 108 yards. Williams said the Seahawks brought Rice in for a reason — to catch passes. And it’s no surprise that Jackson looked Rice’s way so often in the receiver’s season debut on Sunday, given his familiarity with Rice built during the duo’s four years together in Minnesota.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the ball is distributed in the passing game as the season progresses. Rice caught 83 passes in 2009, his last full season. Williams set a career high with 65 catches last year. And tight end Zach Miller, acquired as a free agent this offseason, has caught 56 or more passes in each of the last three seasons.

Miller hasn’t been particularly involved in the passing game, either. At least not as a receiver. He’s caught just nine passes, same as Williams, partly because he has been relied upon to pass protect given the struggles of Seattle’s inexperienced offensive line.

Miller said he expected as much. Williams, though, was the team’s premier receiving threat last year, and there’s reason to wonder if his lack of production thus far is weighing on him. After all, five other Seahawks players have more targets than Williams this season — including running back Justin Forsett — and Jackson actually has more rushing yards (45) than Williams does receiving yards (43).

But Williams remains unconcerned.

“It might sound crazy, but I love to win,” Williams said. “If we lose a game and I don’t feel like I was a factor in it, that’s a different story. But if we win 14 games and I don’t get a catch … different conversation.”

Coach Pete Carroll and Jackson both made a point after Sunday’s game of saying they’d like to get Williams involved more. Williams said he likes the progression the offense showed against Arizona.

“I just don’t want to be a distraction,” Williams said. “I don’t want my lack of targets to be a distraction for us, especially the offense. I feel like we’re going the right direction, last week kind of finding our groove, finding our personnel.”